From Burnout to Breakthrough: How Hiring an Integrator Can Revitalize Your Business
Without Roy there would have been no Walt.
Disney, that is. Without his brother Roy, Walt claimed he would have been bankrupt and never found a way to finance his dreams.
For every Jobs there was a Wozniak.
For every Ford there was a Couzens.
There’s a major misconception out there that if you started a business, you should know how to “do it all.”
These famous visionary innovators didn’t actually do it alone. They had integrators.
The Visionary and the Integrator - A love story as old as time
The book Rocket Fuel, part of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), introduces this powerful relationship: Visionary + Integrator.
The Visionary is exactly what the title implies - the one with the vision, the big ideas, and foresight into infinite future possibilities. This individual usually has many more ideas than can be implemented and feels weighed down by the minutiae of implementing any of those ideas. This person is usually the CEO.
The Integrator is the visionary’s most important partner because they listen carefully to the Visionary and integrate ideas into strategy. This individual’s roles involve both determining how to make a vision a reality and protecting the visionary’s attention so that they focus on vision instead of details. This person often has a title like COO, CFO, or CSO.
When You are Visionary AND Integrator
In smaller businesses and organizations, CEOs often find themselves playing both roles. They come up with the next big idea for their business AND figure out how to make it happen AND manage the daily “fires” (those pesky issues that pop up, are extremely urgent, and distract from the longer-term work). When one person is in charge of all of this, it’s the visioning that is most likely to be neglected.
A person can manage both roles for a few years pretty successfully, especially in the beginning when there’s startup energy fueling their progress. Inevitably, though, CEOs burnout or the business stagnates.
When the business slows down and the CEO is feeling stuck, this is a good sign it’s time to start outsourcing some Integrator support. Most small organizations can’t afford an Integrator. Precious resources must be spent on getting the work done and best serving clients.
Good news: the integrator job can be brought on in discrete projects instead of the expensive full time staff member. Fractional COOs and consultants are great options. Consider which roles weigh you down the most – like keeping up with the daily fires, lacking a vision, financial management, supervision, etc. Seek out consultants and support based on the areas you most need relief. And if you aren’t sure how to figure that out, we can help with that too.
If you run a small business or a small nonprofit, ask yourself:
How much of my time is spent managing small details?
How much of my energy is focused on administration?
How much of my capacity is taken up by keeping the doors open day to day?
What is my next big idea?
Where do I want this company to be in 2, 5, or 10 years?
If I could gift myself a one-week retreat, what would I focus on?
Interested in learning more? This client case study shows how we used the visionary-integrator in action: Why You Need an Integrator.
When you're ready to get the time, team, strategy, and data you need to focus on your vision, here are three ways we can help:
Eliminate extra work for your team. Messy internal operations will hold your team back from achieving your vision. Download our free guide: 7 Ways to Eliminate Extra Work in Your Small Business.
Get posts just like this one straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter: Small but Mighty.
Take your vision from dream to done. Get a completely customized look at the inside operations of your business and easy to implement solutions. Book a 30 minute call.